Bangalore, Dec. 26: Three extra steps out of curiosity took two constables on the night beat to an abandoned silver Matiz early this morning. It was the car of Adhip Lahiri who was found dead beside a lake four days ago.

In minutes, policemen from the forensic wing arrived to look for fingerprints, hair and blood samples. There were signs of struggle in the back seat and a foldable flap covering the boot area had been ripped apart. Blood stuck thick on it.

Lahiri, who was from Calcutta, was allegedly murdered in the back seat while trying to resist what apparently was a robbery. The bloodstains might belong to Lahiri as his nose was broken in the scuffle.

“How the victim landed in the back seat, how many assailants there were and to whom the bloodstains belong are still being investigated,” a deputy commissioner of police said.

According to prelimi- nary investigation, the car had been abandoned immediately after the crime in the Yeswanthpur area of the city, a good 15 km away from where the body was found. The car was found in a cul-de-sac, behind a petrol pump, and was hidden from view by construction material.

The police recovered duct tape, a small stick half the size of a walking stick and Lahiri’s wristwatch and office ID from the car. His laptop and wallet are still missing.

The day the body was discovered, one of the killers tried to use Adhip’s HSBC credit card to withdraw money. But as he did not get the PIN right, the card was automatically disabled after a few tries.